Trans Nzoia unveils ambitious plan to tackle climate change

Former Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Khaemba.

Photo credit: File

As one way of mitigating the effects of climate change, the Trans Nzoia County government has started planting indigenous trees on riparian lands.

Environment, Water and Natural Resources executive Andrew Musungu said the department has been allocated Sh20 million to save degraded wetlands and forests.

More than 18 percent of the total county surface area is under forest, with over 45,000 hectares gazetted as forest and 252.53 hectares as no-gazetted forest.

The major county forests include Kapolet, Kitale, Saboti, Sosio, Suam, and Kiptogot. Others are Kitalale and Kimothon.

“Community and private forests have been hit with a challenge of low funding by the county government. We have developed a transitional implementation plan on devolved forest functions to guide the county government on how to take up the functions,” said the region’s ecosystem conservator George Abuto.

The county has not been spared from the environmental degradation arising mainly from poor farming practices, destruction of forests, unplanned land use and natural causes such as landslides.

The effects include reduced forest cover, soil erosion, reduced agricultural productivity, landslides, frequent droughts, flooding and erratic rainfall patterns.

Environmentalist David Musundi said climate change has contributed to damage to trees especially in wetlands because of human activities.

“We are not getting enough rainfall as a result of climate change, which has been brought about by deforestation owing to human settlement on the two water towers of Cherangany and Mt Elgon,” he said.

The ecosystem, said Kitale Museum curator George Odeng, is key to climatic conservation owing to an increase in urbanization, with buildings replacing trees.

“We have planted 5,000 bamboo seedlings within the museum. The advantage of bamboo is that it can be generated in a very short time. Bamboo is also very friendly to other plants,” he said.

Finance change

The county government is also banking on new local legislation to harness resources to boost climate conservation efforts in the region.

Mr Musungu said the Trans Nzoia County Climate Change Fund Act 2021 will finance change adaptation and mitigation projects and related activities.

“We are optimistic that this legal framework will enable us to acquire extra finances that will go towards funding environmental upgrading conservation activities across the county,” he said.

The fund will be used in climate change projects and activities, including those required under the Climate Change Act 2016 and those provided for in the Climate Finance Framework established under this Act.

“One of the major plans in the pipeline is the beautification programme of Kitale and the rehabilitation of rivers by planting tree seedlings along the river banks to mitigate the effects of soil erosion,” he said.

Environment chief officer John Meng’wa said residents living near the two water towers in the region will be sensitised to desist from destroying the ecosystem.

“The two water towers have faced massive degradation owing to human activities that include settlement. Our goal is to rehabilitate them as they are very critical in the rainfall patterns in this region,” he said.

Plans are underway to rehabilitate the Tuwan River, which has been degraded because of human activities including encroachment on riparian land and improper waste disposal.

This was resolved during a tour by National Environment Complaints Committee officers, with County Commissioner Samson Ojwang' saying they will deploy a multi-agency approach to rehabilitate the river.

“The rehabilitation of the Tuwan River is on course, because it has been polluted, which makes it environmentally hazardous. Pollution and sand harvesting are major threats,” he said in Kitale.

Water Resource Management Authority county officer Leah Mukite said the agency has embarked on a rigorous riparian pegging process that will see the alienation of 30 metres of riparian land to safeguard rivers in the region.

“Encroachment on riparian lands is a major threat to rivers in this county. We are committed to ensuring the rivers are safeguarded by enforcing the 30-metre rule," she said.

Kenyan laws define riparian land as a minimum of six metres and up to a maximum of 30 metres on either side of a river from the highest watermark. This distance is based on the width of the river and the water volume at any given time.

The National Environment Complaints Committee has also raised concerns over waste management adjacent to the Machinjoni slaughterhouse, management of quarries in Machewa and Kwanza, and encroachment on wetlands.

Trans Nzoia officials cited lack of land as a major hindrance to setting up a waste disposal system, saying they are eyeing integrated waste management technology.